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Toys R Us Pokemon League Re-Energized!

Well for once I feel proud to be a part of Toys R Us. Now you may be saying to me, "Hey, Mr. G, what are you, crazy? You've got that mad cow disease? Did Geoffrey threaten to eat the rest of your salami with cheese on rye at the Toys R Us in Sanford, Florida's Staff Break Room?" For once I can proudly say no. This letter should probably sum all of this confusion up:

" Please be advised that the administration of the (Toys R Us) Pokemon League is being turned over from John Gogliano to myself. Thanks to John for his effort in coordinating this. Having said that, I wanted to update you as to where we are with the (TRU) leagues.

As many of you know, our Dept. is working to create new SERVICES to provide our guests while re-thinking existing ones. We all realize that the (TRU) Leagues have lost momentum. We feel, however, that the concept is a solid one that can still have merit. We are partnered with Wizards to revitalize this initiative in order to provide your (TRU Store) teams with tools to create Magic within the stores. Because the (TRU) Leagues are not drawing the numbers of players as in the past…here are our first steps to hatcheting up the excitement level.

• As noted in a earlier Email today, Wizards will ship all Pokemon League kits, beginning with Season 5, as a supply. They will have a bar code (that is for their use only) affixed to the box, that we will disregard. They will label each box with a bright yellow label identifying the kit and the season. The ACS Managers can then get the kits out of prioritization so that we can get it on an Auto-delivery system. It will help us to ensure that the kits get to the (TRU) store teams in a timely manner as we start the re-vitalization process.

• We have a scheduled a Pokemon Activity as a part of CAMP GEOFFREY. The Wizards team is going to send kits, at no cost to us, to the store as an activity, V.S. a league, for a "Pokemon Day at Camp Geoffrey" It will include:

• Letter/FAQ for Store Personal
• League Flyers
• Trainer Video
• Promo Cards
• Game Play Activity
• Game Play Activity #2
• Non-Game Play Activity (Drawing)
• Demo CDs

The stores can run the videos, hand out the Promo Cards and Demo CDs, and provide the activities for the kids. This kit is designed to give the stores a vehicle to talk up the Leagues. We ask that you share your store's ideas ahead of time so they (Wizards) have enough time to make plans to plus it up.

• The current MAP initiative is being re-written to re-explain the League, speak to the new improvement, and re-emphasize the importance of making the Leagues a priority once again in the stores.
• Beginning May 20^th, all Pokemon cards and albums will be 50% off!!! What better time to re-invent the Leagues? In the MAP, we will give suggestions as to how the teams can set up the area for league play and create new enthusiasm in their stores.
• We are committed to assisting you in finding FuN and MaGiCaL ways for follow-up to be sure that everyone is back on track with the NeW FuN PoKeMoN LeAgUeS! Our goal is to help you to invent a new way to convey the message to your stores as you send them in your updates. I will send updates to share your ideas, successes, and best practices periodically.
• NSSC Support- Going forward, if you need any help with the administration of the League (i.e. Kits, Supplies, etc.), Please Email me. Either Rosemary, Sales Dept. assistant, or I will help you too resolve any issues your stores might have.

I look forward to your feedback as to how we can help you to support your stores become even more MaGiCaL places to shop and work.

Thank You ~

Marcia Chiaverini

Toys R Us

Every Guest Every Day!

Director of Store Events and Services"

I know several of you have commented over the past weeks that the interest has really dropped off with this concept. While some of you may have concerns with the Pokemon Trading Card Game League in Toys R Us, the great news is that we do have a opportunity to influence the process and support from National Toys R US HQ. I know some of you are pretty busy, so replies are not mandatory on this but I think its only in our best interest that we communicate to Nationals our feelings about…

What type of support would you like to see in order to make this a success in your store?

Are certain materials/supplies more effective than others?

If other retailers (ex, Book Stores) have these Leagues, what do we need to provide ours more successful?

How can we make the NeW AnD FuN PoKeMoN LeAgUeS, truly new and fun?

What do we need more of?

What do need to get rid of?

HELP US TO MAKE THIS INITIATIVE GREAT AGAIN!

I will be helping to do this via my Email, rmckinney2@cfl.rr.com, so please submit any ideas you might have. I will then forward all your submissions directly to Miss Marcia. Also if you have any problems (i.e. Missing Shipments of Kits, etc.) TRU League Coordinators please Email me with your problem and will be sure to let Marcia know. I would also like to add that Camp Geoffrey is slated to occur during the week of May 20^th, 2001. I have very little details of what this about but I will tell Myuu to post something in the News once the information comes available to me. Thanks and remember you heard it first, here, at Pojo.com. Have a Great Day! Keep Those Ideas Coming!

-GymLeaderPhil

www.pojo.com